The Mexican Museum to Hold Historic Dedication Ceremony & Cornerstone Presentation on July 19th at Museum’s New Home in the Yerba Buena Gardens Arts District

SAN FRANCISCO, July 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Mexican Museum, the premier West Coast museum of Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano, Latin American, and Latino art, culture and heritage, announces that it will hold a special Dedication Ceremony & Cornerstone Presentation on Tuesday, July 19 from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. With the new museum facility now under construction, this celebration marks the culmination of decades of work by community leaders and local government stakeholders to fulfill the reality of a new home for The Mexican Museum in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens Arts District. The free, family-friendly event will take place at Jessie Square Plaza, 706 Mission Street (between 3rd & 4th Streets). The public and media are welcome.

The July 19 Dedication Ceremony is especially meaningful as we mourn the passing of The Mexican Museum’s beloved founder and visionary, Peter Rodriguez, who died on July 1, 2016, at age 90.

Hosted by The Mexican Museum’s Chairman, Andrew M. Kluger, and the Board of Trustees, the Dedication Ceremony & Cornerstone Presentation will include appearances by local and Mexican dignitaries. Scheduled to attend are:

The July 19th celebration will also include celebrity guests and free giveaways. All giveaways are first-come, first served. Donations are graciously accepted and will go to The Mexican Museum fund. Special guests include:

-- Julio César Chávez, considered the greatest Mexican fighter of all time, who will give away 100 pairs of autographed kid’s boxing gloves.

-- Elena Durán, the world-renowned, Oakland-born flautist, who will give a performance and present 100 copies of her latest Mexican music CD, “Mi México Lindo.”

-- Huichol Indian Artists, who will demonstrate how the artisan communities of the Sierra Madres Mountains in Mexico create their famous, colorfully beaded artwork. Artists in attendance include Fernando Motilla Zarur, from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and co-founder of Marakame; and Luis de la Cruz López and Sergio Bautista de la Cruz, both from the Huichol community of La Laguna in western Mexico.

“We are tremendously excited to host this milestone event for The Mexican Museum and the great City of San Francisco,” said Kluger. “On July 19th, we will all celebrate that The Mexican Museum is taking its rightful place in a cultural epicenter of world-class museums in the Yerba Buena Gardens Arts District. We are proud of the dedication shown by our museum founder Peter Rodriguez and grateful for the hard work and perseverance shown by the many hundreds of people who made this day possible.”

The Mexican Museum is a partner of MEX I AM: LIVE IT TO BELIEVE IT, a multidisciplinary art and cultural Festival that is organized by the San Francisco Consul General of Mexico.

Groundbreaking began on the new museum facility in June 2016. Construction of 706 Mission, a luxury residential development, and The Mexican Museum is now well underway, including the rehabilitation of the Aronson Building by the museum’s developer, Millennium Partners. Building development and construction will continue over the next three years. The Mexican Museum will occupy the first four floors of the new 510-foot tower at Jessie Square. This project has been made possible through a unique partnership with the City and County of San Francisco through the Successor Agency (formerly the Redevelopment Agency) and the project developer, Millennium Partners, and with support from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE).

The community is encouraged to support The Mexican Museum by becoming new members, or by joining the Builders’ Society online or by mailing a check to: The Mexican Museum, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard, Building D, San Francisco, CA 94123.

About The Mexican Museum: Founded by the well-known San Francisco artist Peter Rodriguez in 1975 in the heart of the Mission District, The Mexican Museum is located at the Fort Mason Center. It is the realization of his vision to present the aesthetic expression of the Mexican and Mexican American people. Today, the museum’s vision has expanded to include the full scope of the Mexican, Chicano, and Latino experience – including the arts, history, and heritage of their respective cultures.

In 2012, The Mexican Museum became an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex. The Museum joins over 200 organizations in 45 states, Puerto Rico and Panama that are in association with the Smithsonian. The Mexican Museum currently has a permanent collection of more than 16,500 objects reflecting Pre-Hispanic, Colonial, Popular, Modern and Contemporary Mexican, Mexican-American, Latin American, Latino, and Chicano art.

The Mexican Museum, open Thursday - Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., is located at the Fort Mason Center, Building D, Marina Boulevard and Buchanan Street, in San Francisco. Admission is FREE. The Museum offers a wide variety of programs, including Family Sundays, exhibitions, special events, lectures, and public programming throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, please visit: http://www.mexicanmuseum.org or call (415) 202-9700.

The Mexican Museum has begun construction of its permanent home in the heart of the Yerba Buena Gardens Art District, which is expected to open in 2019. People are encouraged to support The Mexican Museum by becoming new members, or by joining the Builder’s Society online or by mailing a check to: The Mexican Museum, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard, Building D, San Francisco, CA 94123. For more information on the Builder’s Society, please contact Edgar De Sola at (415) 202-9700 ext. 225.